a poem that mourns the death of a person or laments something lost The Elegy a poem that mourns the death of a person or laments something lost

The dominant mood in Anglo-Saxon poetry is elegiac. It reflects a sense of sadness over the grimness and transient nature of earthly life that is found in the epic. It is also found in several Old English poems and fragments in which a bard laments the passing greater days and greater glories.

“The Seafarer” From the Exeter Book, a manuscript of miscellaneous Anglo-Saxon poems dating from around A.D. 940. Based on oral tradition and recorded by monks. The “songs” of the Exeter book are the chief source of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Social/cultural basis for the poem Anglo-Saxons were sea voyagers Northern seas were then– as now – especially cruel. The weather is harsh and the seas rough. The speaker in “The Seafarer” is an old sailor who drifted through many winters on ice-cold seas.

Primary theme – “fatalism” Reflects mood of deep gloom and pessimism Life was brief and filled with peril One’s fate or wyrd was inescapable Many scholars believe A/S were quick to embrace Christianity because it offered comfort and relief from the bleak pagan outlook.

Secondary theme - “exile” A recurrent theme in A/S poetry Isolation might come from accidents at sea or the aftermath of battle (especially if one’s lord or protector were killed). Many A/S poems contrast joy and security of the tribal banqueting hall with misery or danger